I always enjoy walking through the doors in Wollongong Art Gallery and visiting this beautiful and calm space.

Last week, I caught up with Wollongong Art Gallery Director Daniel Mudie Cunningham for the 2025 program announcement.

It’s Mudie Cunningham’s first program since he took on the position of director last year, and it promises to offer something for everyone.

Across the year, there will be 10 exhibitions all up including a touring show, Restless Legs by Mitch Cairnes from the Art Gallery of NSW and an exhibition from New Zealand-borh, Melbourne-based artist Patrick Pound called Dream Vitrine.

Plus, there will be WAG’s Greetings from Wollongong in June. This features iconic Redback Graphix items from the Gallery’s collection, a survey of films by local independent director Mary Callaghan (1955-2016), along with works by selected invited artists. WAG’s resident curatorium will be led by guest co-curator, Kaylene Milner (WAH-WAH fashion label founder).

One that I am very much looking forward to is the return of the Wollongong Art Prize. It’s been reimagined for 2025 and boasts a $25,000 acquisitive top prize, a $5,000 local artist prize and a $2,000 people’s choice prize.

It’s the second arts-focused prize that’ll be offered in the City of Wollongong this year with the acquisitive Sculpture in the Garden also on at the Wollongong Botanic Garden again in April.

We’re so very fortunate to have one of Australia’s largest regional museums in the heart of our city.

It’s so important to me that Council provides access to the arts through spaces like the Wollongong Art Gallery – it makes our city all the richer for it. The Gallery is free to visit and is always worth a stroll through. There are also opportunities to participate in a creative workshop or listen to an artist’s talk at different times of the year.

However, you don’t need to walk through the Gallery’s doors to enjoy art. The front panels adorning the Gallery have an extra pop of colour with Crushing Shrinking Violets by Sarah Contos brightening the facade. This, along with the iconic Bert Flugelman Spiral and Wave sculpture located in the front garden bed, are sure to attract your attention and entice you into our incredible Gallery.

I’d encourage everyone to take the time over this year to visit the Wollongong Art Gallery and enjoy one of our city’s cultural delights.